Entre Ríos achieves its first conviction for exploiting illegal online gambling
The man who ended up being convicted had himself recounted, in statements to a local media outlet, how his unauthorized online betting business operated. That story, published by the La Departamental Noticias portal, prompted a complaint from the legal team of the Instituto de Ayuda Financiera a la Acción Social (IAFAS) and led to the first conviction for illegal gambling in the history of Entre Ríos.
The ruling bears the signature of Ramón A. Lell, Judge of Guarantees and Transition of La Paz, who declared the 37-year-old accused the material and criminally responsible author of the crime provided for in Article 301 bis of the Argentine Penal Code. The sentence was set at three years of conditional imprisonment.
According to the resolution, the convicted individual organized and exploited a system for collecting bets for online casinos without the required authorizations, with the help of a person who acted as a cashier. In this scheme, the cashiers were responsible for managing collections and served as a link between bettors and the platforms. The judge emphasized that the accused himself described the structure of the organization, thereby not only admitting his participation but also detailing the role of each member, which, in the court's opinion, demonstrated the existence of a pre-arranged system to systematically exploit illegal gambling.
The convicted person's statements were not taken as sufficient evidence on their own. The investigation corroborated them through various measures, including a raid on his home.
Article 301 bis was incorporated into the Penal Code in 2016 by Law 27.346 and punishes with penalties of three to six years in prison anyone who exploits, administers, or operates gambling games without authorization from the competent authority. Therefore, the sentence handed down in La Paz is at the minimum end of the scale, which allows it to be conditionally fulfilled. IAFAS is the body that administers and regulates gambling in Entre Ríos, and the case highlights the scheme of cashiers who act as intermediaries between bettors and unauthorized platforms, a modality that frequently appears in investigations into illegal gambling in Argentina.
Tags: IAFAS Entre Ríos, Illegal gambling in Entre Ríos, Article 301 bis of the Penal Code, Illegal betting agents